When Darrie first asked me to speak today, at first I thought I might not be the best person for it. After giving it some thought I remembered Martin Luther King Jr. had said “As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways that I could respond to my situation: either to react with bitterness or seek …
Moving from Disconnection to Connection
I would like to start by saying it means a lot to be here right now. As a matter of fact, me being up here is the completion of something that started over two years ago when I was first a part of this garden. I was offered an opportunity to give a talk for a benefit just like this, …
Reconnecting With Myself
Good Afternoon Everyone and Welcome to the Cesar Chavez Day of service here at the Homeless Garden Projects Farm. So how was lunch? Let’s thank 1440 for providing us with such an outstanding & nourishing lunch! First-off I would like to thank each and everyone of you for not only taking the time to show up… but putting in the …
The Farm Nourishes Me
Hello, my name is Doug, I have been at the Homeless Garden Project since May. I grew up on the east coast, and have a construction, and restaurant background. I moved to California about ten years ago, and even though I had experience, it was hard for me to find work. The Homeless Garden Project gets people from all different …
All the Beauty in Me
When I was preparing for this talk, it was important to me that all of you here as guests at our Sustain Supper would get my very best. I wanted to speak in a way that you could see my excitement about my experience here, but also see how important the program is in our community. This program excites me, …
We Grow So Many Wonderful Things Together at HGP
“Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them.”
A Second Opportunity
Being homeless I am never happy, but sometimes I am content. Since I started working for HGP and earning a paycheck I have been content. My god, just having a bike that’s not stolen is a godsend. I use to have to walk everywhere, about 8 miles a day for most of a year.
Belonging to Something Bigger Than Myself
If you would have told me just a few short months ago that I will be asked to speak for the city of Santa Cruz, honestly I would’ve told you that you were crazy. No one tells you life is easy. But I believe it is as hard as you make it, and I made my life extremely hard for …
A Light, A Raft, An Outstretched Hand
I am truly honored to be asked to speak today honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work and message of non-violence, unity, and love has deeply impacted many lives across the world. He worked to dismantle the systems of inequality that created conditions of poverty for so many communities worldwide. He believed that hunger and poverty were not individual …
We Are Not Meant To Suffer Alone
Hello. My name is Patricia and this is the first time I’ve told my story. I was born in “fabulous” Las Vegas on the first day of summer, in 1973. Growing up in that hot desert valley was a stark contrast to the wet alfalfa farm in Utah that my grandmother moved to Vegas from. My grandfather left her to …